Rose Garden
by Extrapolation
Summary: The smell of crushed rose petals… what a nostalgic scent. Don't you agree? Zexion certainly does. MarlyZex. Happy 6/11!


**Title: **Rose Garden  
**Summary: **The smell of crushed rose petals… what a nostalgic scent. Don't you agree? Zexion certainly does. MarlyZex. Happy 6/11!  
**Pairings: **Zexion/Marluxia  
**Warnings: **Teenage themes.  
**Beta: **Un-beta'd.

**A/N: **I completely forgot about 6/11! As a result, I had to rush and write this one-shot… I hope it isn't too bad! I usually mess things up when I rush. I want to do this pairing justice, especially since I don't see much of it here.

* * *

From what I could gather from Xigbar's prattling, there was a new member in the Organization. It was no use asking for a description; all I got was "Guy looks like a girl" and a snicker. If I wanted to know more about the newcomer, I would have to meet him myself. I could only hope the man would be worth my time.

I headed out of the rooms and through the twisting corridors of the castle at a brisk walk. I had made a point of memorizing the layout of the castle right from the very beginning, and thus knew it well. I made my way towards the twelve rooms where all of the Organization besides Xeh—Xemnas slept. The newcomer would go there first, I knew. All of the newcomers went to their rooms first. As I walked through the passage, I took deep breaths of Never Was's air, sifting through the scents, searching for a smell alien to the off-white castle. I found scents, but they were all familiar to me. The sweet smell of dirt, an acrid wisp of smoke drifting by, a blast of cold air… and a slight shift in the air currents. I caught the new scent.

It smelled like… crushed rose petals. And it was familiar, in a way that made the edges of my mind prickle with anticipation and… something else.

Needless to say, my interest was piqued.

I sped up, just a little, and began delving into my memories of being Ienzo. I hadn't thought of my Somebody in a long, long time, and the memories were slipping away. Where had I smelled that delicate fragrance before?

"_My rose garden." The boy brushed back a delicate pink lock of hair, surveying the garden proudly._

_The aroma of flowers permeated the area, filling Ienzo's senses. It was heavenly. There were so many kinds of roses in such a small space, and the boy felt the urge to explore and feel every inch of the garden. He stroked the petals of a blood-red rose, gingerly prodded a long thorn on a delicate pink one and looked up at the proud flowers of a climbing rose. _

"_I take care of it by myself, but I don't find the work tedious. I love tending the flowers." The older boy watched the child explore the small garden. The slate-haired boy found a small weed, gasped and pulled it out. The pink-haired boy smiled. _

"_Of course, I wouldn't mind a helper…"_

_Ever since then, Ienzo would come every day to help him. The scent of roses clung to the slate-haired boy's body constantly, like a perfume whose scent would not wash away. Ienzo didn't mind, though. It calmed him and served as a constant reminder of that garden._

I blinked.

Now that was unexpected. A bit unsettling, even. _All the more reason to meet this No. XI,_ an internal voice whispered.

I stopped outside the eleventh door and knocked. The door opened and—_his hair is bright pink?_—Number XI stood before me.

"Greetings, XI," I said smoothly. _Pink hair. That's familiar, too. _"I am VI, Zexion."

Blue eyes looked me over. There was a flash of something – recognition, perhaps? – but it faded as quickly as it came and I was unable to identify it. _Those blue eyes… where have I seen them before?_

"Nice to meet you, Zexion. I am Marluxia," he tells me, pronouncing his name "mar-loo-shia." The voice was familiar as well. Hearing that voice, the name…

"Maru?" I whispered, and suddenly I was little Ienzo again, back in the rose garden with Alimaru. Marluxia gaped for a moment before that beautiful smile I remembered so well surfaced.

I felt something fill up inside me, and I realized how empty I was before.

Nobodies don't have hearts.

But when I'm in Maru's arms like this… I'm Ienzo.

So it's okay, right? To love?


End file.
